Passion

Young Wellington resident wants to be part of building a sustainable village

Jennifer Armstrong is a common face around the village. She has lived in Wellington—in the same house—her entire 22 years of life. Since she was 14, she has worked in multiple staple businesses around town and has become deeply involved in a variety of associations, groups, clubs, and committees.

Her voice has become a commodity of sorts in this realm of the community, often being the sole “young person” at most meetings, although she truly does not believe her opinion or voice should be the only one getting all the attention.

One of the more topical groups Jennifer has become involved with recently is the Wellington Community Association (WCA). The group’s upcoming Vision for Our Village event will be a safe space for everyone in the community to have their opinions and ideas heard on the direction of the community.

The Vision for the Village was created in partnership between the County and the WCA to find out what the members of the community’s interests and concerns are. It takes place on Saturday, April 15 at the Wellington and District Community Centre.

It is no secret that Wellington has been going through some changes. With these changes comes growth spurts and growing pains. One of the many upcoming developments—Cork and Vine—will practically be in Jennifer’s backyard, but in a town the size of Wellington, you could call it everyone’s backyard.

The shared impact for all residents was a main motivation for the creation of the event. Change will happen here regardless, and the WCA would like the community to have input rather than sitting by and watching what is to come.

“It is hard to get anything done as a sole citizen, this is why committees are important,” said Armstrong.

Kaitlin Corp. is a large company that controls many smaller subsidiary companies. Trying to influence its direction would be like trying to push a heavy boulder up a long steep hill—hard to do alone.

Armstrong believes the strength in numbers that a committee provides, prevails. “The more people involved in planning, pushing and pulling the boulder, the more it will react to the group’s effort.”

The event will not just focus on development, but on the community’s needs as a whole. The WCA itself, a newer group, has been something the community has been missing for a while, and they are hoping to get things in motion. The County and the WCA seem to be aligned in the idea that Wellington needs attention, but often the biggest obstacle is talk over tangible action.

The event will start with a brief introduction, attendees will then be split into focus groups to discuss six main areas of interest or concern regarding Wellington—traffic, beautification, events, cultural heritage, new development and new ideas in general.

It will be the first of many to come, but not wanting to follow the trend of continuous meetings and no action.

Armstrong joined the Waterfront Task Team after realizing local vacation rentals were allowing use of Rotary beach resident passes for non-residents. This is what led to her being asked to help out with Pumpkinfest and eventually joining the Wellington Recreation Committee. It was here that she became informed about upcoming developments all across town.

She attended a meeting held by Kaitlin Corp. regarding Cork and Vine, where she met a group of local individuals who shared a common desire to oversee development.

According to Armstrong, Wellington’s downtown core is fragile, and if development (specifically commercial) does not elevate it, then it could disappear entirely.

Rental properties are sparse, and the housing crisis does not need an explanation here. “Out of all the developments, only one targets lower income and youth,” said Armstrong, who adds this is not a problem specific to her.

For Armstrong, getting involved in the community has not been easy on top of a full-time work and school schedule. The time it takes can sometimes be overwhelming. She mentions that the Wellington Recreation Committee only has six volunteers, which has made it a struggle to accomplish tasks.

Armstrong says she does find satisfaction in educating the community on what the possibilities are, and she has found that the best way forward is to ask “how can we accomplish this” rather than “can something be done”.

Armstrong’s passion and hard work has certainly already started to have an influence in town, although she fears it may not be enough. “I grew up here, my life is here, and I would like to stay here,”she says. “But with the way things are going, I won’t be able to.”

To view upcoming development proposals, plans and stages, the public can visit the Planning Portal, an interactive map at thecounty.ca